Rose McGowan says she ‘can’t stop crying’ after Charmed ‘sister’ Shannen Doherty died at 53 following breast cancer battle: ‘Our lives our intertwined in unique way’

Rose McGowan expressed profound grief as she joined fellow celebrities in paying tribute to Shannen Doherty on Sunday, following the actress’s death at 53.

The 50-year-old actress, who played Shannen’s sister on Charmed after the late star exited the CW show, took to her social media to share an emotional message.

‘I can’t stop crying,’ she commented via Instagram. ‘A world without Shannen Doherty is inconceivable.’

In a lengthier message, Rose showered praise on Shannen, who had courageously battled breast cancer since 2015. 

‘Shannen Doherty had the heart of a lion,’ the Scream star wrote alongside a heartbreaking photo album. ‘Passion for craft is often mislabeled as trouble. Shannen was passion.’

She continued: I met her in the 90s and was awed. Getting to really know her later in life, a beautiful gift.

‘This woman fought to live. Shannen knew how to be a star because she was one since childhood. Her work ethic inspiring to the end.’

‘We laughed at dark forces who wanted us to hate each other, instead we chose love and respect. A soft-hearted badass as there ever was. A force of energy that will live forever in hearts. 

‘May angels and God carry her to the holy kingdom where she is healthy, young and wild forever. Rest now warrior, we will never forget you dear sister #shannendoherty #charmed #warrior #brave #infinity’ 

Shannen, Holly Marie Combs, and Alyssa Milano portrayed the Halliwell witches in Charmed’s first three seasons.

Doherty left before season 4 amidst reported tensions with Milano (although Milano denies any responsibility for her departure), leading to McGowan’s introduction as their younger half-sister.

Rose’s tribute comes after reports that Shannen said she was ‘wrecked’ at the thought of starting chemotherapy again, just three weeks before she passed away on Saturday at the age of 53. 

The star — who was was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 — got candid about gearing up for the drug treatment during the June 24 episode of her Let’s Be Clear podcast. 

 

‘I’m having to go back on chemo and it’s really hard,’ the actress said at the time. ‘The idea of going through that all over again has wrecked me.’

She continued: ‘It’s wrecked me in the sense of, yes, I knew I had stage 4 and yes, I knew it was really serious, but when you have to go to the hospital and you have to get put under and a port put in you, it becomes very real in an incredibly different way.’

The Charmed star also noted that she might have to ‘change’ her plan based on the chemotherapy results after three months. 

‘That’s not something that I can predict. It’s not something my doctors can predict. And it’s scary,’ she continued. ‘It’s like a big wake-up call.’

In the same podcast episode, she confessed the past year was ‘really hard’ for her. 

On Sunday, Doherty’s publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed the actor’s death. 

‘It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease,’ Sloane told People. 

‘The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace,’ Sloane added. 

Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh in the hit 1990s show, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. 

Just two years later, the Charmed star revealed that the cancer had returned after going into remission. 

At the time, she told Good Morning America: ‘It’s going to come out in a matter of days or a week that I’m stage 4. So my cancer came back, and that’s why I’m here. 

‘I don’t think I’ve processed it. It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways,’ she said.

Last year she announced that her cancer had spread to her brain in an Instagram post that showed her undergoing radiation therapy.

She teased a new episode of her podcast Let’s Be Clear by sharing a snippet on her official Instagram account.

In October 1990, Doherty starred in the original Beverly Hills 90210, but left the series after the fourth season in 1994. She came back to the show as a guest star in 2008 after it rebooted. 

Following the popular series, she went on to star in the witch drama, Charmed. Doherty played Prue Halliwell, the oldest of the three witch sisters. 

After directing several episodes of Charmed, Doherty left the series in 2001. She then moved on to reality television, as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and in the show Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty. 

She joined the 2019 reboot of 90210 and played the adult version of Brenda Walsh. 

Doherty initially kept her diagnosis under wraps, but after her co-star Luke Perry suddenly died at 52 in 2019, she opened up about her health battle.

“One of the reasons, along with Luke, that I did and didn’t really tell anybody [was] because I thought, people can look at that [as] people with stage 4 can work too,” she explained.

Perry died on March 4 that year after he suffered a massive ischemic stroke at his home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles.  

‘It’s so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first,’  Doherty said on Good Morning America in 2020.  ‘It was really, like, shocking.’ 

On June 24, Doherty gave fans insight into where she’s at in her divorce and cancer journey on the latest episode of her podcast. 

She confessed that her past year has been ‘really hard’ as she discussed her split from photographer Kurt Iswarienko, 49. 

‘Obviously, divorce is not easy, especially when you really loved someone. And I did love my husband,’ Doherty said. 

‘And when you get so hurt by their actions that you just feel betrayed and like a sucker, it’s really hard.’

Doherty also revealed she would be starting another round of chemotherapy ‘probably a couple of days after this episode is out.’

‘To just be walking into the unknown — I just feel like my life has been unknown for over a year now, between divorce and cancer,’ she added. 

The couple were together for 11 years before they divorced.  

The Hollywood vet referred to the divorce proceedings as ‘not the most pleasant thing’ and said she may ‘never be ready to discuss the full details’ of the dissolution of her marriage. 

In a recent court filing, Doherty criticized her ex Kurt’s spending habits in a request for spousal support.

She filed paperwork in Los Angeles on Friday, June 14, according to Us Magazine.

In the documents, the actress requested $15,343 in monthly support ‘retroactive to June 1, 2024.’

She also asked that Kurt contribute $9,100 to her legal fees. The actress believed that her ex was intentionally delaying the legal process to avoid paying her.

‘It is simply not right that Kurt be permitted to prolong our divorce in hopes that I die before he is required to pay me while he continues to live his life and shirk his responsibilities to his dying wife of more than 11 years,’ she stated in filed paperwork.

Iswarienko’s attorney Katherine Heersema fired back, stating that Shannen was offered a settlement deal in October 2023 but denied it.

‘Kurt is not “simply wait[ing] for Shannen to die.” He wants the best for Shannen and he wants both of them to be able to put this case behind them and move forward,’ she said.

In response, Doherty said she denied the proposed settlements because they ‘skirted around the issues of his original works created during marriage’ and ‘his earning capacity.’